Moto
perpetuo...

Everyone already knows Audio
Analogue, the Italian HiFi firm that has conquered the World with a
series of high quality/price ratio components, namely the Puccini
integrated amplifiers (both the standard and the SE version) and the
Bellini/Donizetti preamp/amp combo. If you want more details about
Audio Analogue you may need to check our recent factory
tour.Audiophiles all around the World were awaiting for a CD
player to match these amps with. And here it is: the Paganini,
another product of the Great composers series: Puccini,
Vivaldi (the DAC, now discontinued), Bellini & Donizetti.Niccolò
Paganini (Genova, 1782-1840) is probably the most famous violinist
ever. He is famous for being both an incredible "virtuoso"
and composer himself. Among his pieces, you may know the Moto
Perpetuo, one of the most difficult tasks for any violinist worth
his weight in Stradivari's.Hence Paganini is a HEAVY name
for a CD player. We will see if the new Audio Analogue player will be
worth the name.

The Paganini is a
rather heavy CD player (10 kgs-22 lbs), sturdly built and nicely
finished. The cabinet is made out of thick-wall steel while up front
you find a solid aluminium panel, with pretty unusual looks. Take the
buttons/switches, for example: the circular placement is a radical
departure from the ubiquitous sequence of horizontal commands. Even
the display is circular, with orange LCD digits.The on/off switch
is located in the rear panel, close to the IEC power socket. A
digital output is available (coaxial) plus a switch that allows to
turn it off when the CD player is working as a stand-alone unit.A
complete blue-coloured remote control is available.

Technically the
Paganini consists of a modified Sony transport coupled with a 24 bit
Crystal D/A converter. For more tech details please refer to the
official site.The
inside view you find below doesn't require any comment by the poor
reviewer: the quality of the craftsmanship is simply superb.
Excellent if you consider the price tag of the player.

The Paganini has been
carefully evaluated into different HiFi systems and has been also
compared with an Audio Analogue Maestro
CD player (of the "Maestro" series, top of the line) which
has been already reviewed here on TNT-Audio.I've listened both
the CD player as a whole and the transport separately.

Moto perpetuo...

Paganini
-IMPRESSIVE- inside view

Its price tag puts the Paganini
in the middle between the hi-end stuff and the entry-level players so
it should be considered as a natural step forward for anyone willing
to upgrade from players like the Marantz CD 67/6000 and the like.

The Paganini is, first
of all, a smooth and sweet performer, no digital harshness being
detectable while listening to it. The high range can be divided into
two sections: the lower high range does possess a sweet roll-off
while the upper high range is well refined and detailed.The mid
range remains clear and rather bright, quite analytical and very
revealing. A very good performer, given the price, with large choirs
and multiple voices. Thanks to the clean mid range each single voice
can be detected and "followed" while listening to the
whole.While being so analytical, the Paganini never sounds harsh
or aggressive, always remaining smooth and enjoyable even at loud
listening levels.

The main difference
with cheaper players is the "grain" of its sound. It
becomes clear, after the first notes, that the Paganini is a higher
class CD player, the same kind of difference you experience when
upgrading to 1,000$ speakers your old 500$ boxes.Now, while this
sweetness of the high range can be relieving with many recordings,
which are overbright oftentimes, it may result a tad "too much
of a good thing" with neutral or dark recordings with which it
may sound cloudy and shut-in. This is the price to pay for a
performance that "smooth".Then you have the bass range.
The upper low range, say, above 60 Hz, is powerful and even a bit
"forward". Below 60 Hz this power becomes to disappear so
that the fundamental lower notes of bass and pipe organ appear a bit
"behind" the rest.Perhaps, being the 80-100 Hz a bit
"forward", the lower portion of spectrum, while being
linear and correct, appears a bit "behind" the rest.
Psychoacoustics rules here.For example, if you listen to a bass
guitar solo, the upper notes appear to be played powerfully while the
lower fundamentals (those that shake the windows panes and the floor)
lack some sheer energy.Again, let me remark that these lower
fundamentals can be heard only with loudspeakers which go flat till
30 Hz or so, nothing that can be detected with mid-sized bookshelf
loudspeakers that appear to be the natural partners of the Paganini
into a budget-oriented mid-class HiFi system.

Dynamics

A smooth performer is
a smooth performer. Trivial but true. Hence you wouldn't expect the
Paganini to explode into your listening room with larger than life
dynamics and extra-fast pace, would you?Instead, the Paganini
offers the Music gently, punchy in the mids and a bit slow in the
bass, never aggressive or of the big-baam-boom kind.Simply
delicious with small jazz ensembles and orchestras, it lacks the
badness which is necessary for large orchestral symphonic works or
rock bands.It is a gentleman, you won't be able to make it sound
bad or explosive. The bass range appears a bit "out of time"
with respect to the mid-bass but the fact isn't truly disappointing.
If I had to say something about the overall "pace" of the
Italian player, I'd rate it as "relaxing and a bit on the slow
side".While playing Music you will easily forget the Hz's
and the dB's, concentrating just on the musical sound this player
gently offers to the listener.

3D imaging and
soundstage

The Paganini does
possess a large and deep soundstage and, thanks to the analyticity of
the mid range, the instruments and the singers appear precisely
focused inside the 3D scene. A performance so good you can find it
only in players costing twice the price of the Audio Analogue
Paganini.The best thing the Paganini does is to offer a very deep
scene, outstandingly deep indeed, for the price. And, of course, it
appears to be wider and "taller" than the one created by
cheaper players...as I always say, the difference between entry-level
and mid-priced HiFi components lies in the capability to create a
sound(stage) large enough to be realistic instead of being compressed
between the 'speakers.The Paganini, with respect to soundstaging,
can rival far more expensive CD players and transport + DAC combos.
Kudos!

Some advice

While sturdly built,
the Paganini benefits from using Vibrapods
or equivalent damping feet. The sound becomes fuller and more
powerful, the bass firmer and the pace a bit faster. The same happens
with a good AC cord, with which the Paganini earns some deeper
frequencies too.In few words: damping feet and AC cord are
strongly recommended if not mandatory.Then leave the Paganini
permanently ON, at least in stand-by mode.Do not use dark
interconnects or your amp will need a treble tone control.

Looking for an
upgrade? The Paganini transport is way better than its DAC, imho. So
an easy upgrade, if you already have a Paganini, would be a better
external DAC. Having tested the transport separately I can assure you
this section of the Paganini is capable of excellent musical
perfomances, sounding precise, accurate and very fast. No wonder the
same transport has been used into the expensive Audio Analogue
Maestro CD player.

Complaints

The craftsmanship
quality of the Paganini is outstanding so it is very difficult to
find something to complain about.Personally, I didn't like the
orange display, which is quite hard to read, and the switches, that
require a long time to be used to: you always end up pressing the
wrong switch :-(Sonically, if you're looking for an effervescent
performer you should consider something else, period. The Paganini's
smooth sound may result "wooly" and shut-in to some
listener. With wrong (read: dark) partners the "smooth"
tone would easily appear excessive and unwelcomed.Choose the
right partners before buying. The Puccini
amps being natural partners, provided the speakers aren't on the
"soft" side.Of course I may be wrong, but it seems the
designers have tried to give an "analogue" character to
this player and, in my humble opinion, they've gone slightly too
far.A more "linear" bass response and a more "open"
behaviour in the highs would have made this player a more "universal"
(read: easy partner) performer.

Conclusions

If you're looking for
a serious upgrade for your entry-level digital front-end with a taste
of hi-end, please take the Paganini into proper account.Smoothness,
soundstaging and grainless sound will make you easily forget the
price, in the sense you wouldn't believe you're listening to a 1,000
$ CD player.Conversely, if you're looking for a lightening fast,
punchy and bright CD player you may need to look elsewhere, as the
sweet character of the Paganini won't suit your needs.

A huge thank you to
the Audio Analogue staff
for having sent us the Paganini for reviewing.